The Chemical and Allied Industries Association (CAIA) announced the winners of its 2017 Responsible Care® Award, the 2017 Responsible Care® Haulier Award, the 2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards and the 2017 Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Award at a gala event that also covered the launch of the CAIA 2017 Responsible Care® Performance Report and the Association’s Annual General Meeting.
Responsible Care® is the chemical industries’ commitment to continuous improvement in all aspects of safety, health and environmental performance and to report openly to stakeholders and interested and affected parties.
Chemical Initiatives (Pty) Ltd – Chloorkop was the proud winner of the 2017 Responsible Care® Award, while the 2017 Responsible Care® Haulier Award was won by PA Stemmet Vervoer cc. CAIA launched a new trophy for the Responsible Care® Haulier Award last year – designed in natural wood and made by local artisans, a closed, offset circular design captures and depicts the importance of the continuous drive towards improved performance that at times requires a change of gears to achieve.
The winner of the 2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award in the Company Project division was Fine Chemicals Corporation (Pty) Ltd for its API Facility Expansion Project, while the award in the Corporate Social Responsibility division went to BASF South Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Kid’s Lab Programme.
The Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards, first presented in 2015, are symbolised through the trophy that is presented. An open-ended abstract design, beginning from a narrow base that widens, embraces the local community. With open ends, the continuance of both the Responsible Care® Initiative and the commitment to the community is implied.
The Responsible Care® Award and the Responsible Care® Haulier Award look at the greatest year-on-year improvements in the four major categories of Responsible Care® pillars that are safety and health; resource efficiency; pollution prevention and product stewardship,” said Deidré Penfold, Executive Director of CAIA.
A new Award, the Sustained High Performance Award, was given in two categories this year – aimed at recognising sustained high performance across three consecutive years. The categories were based on the number of applicable indicators amongst Responsible Care® signatories. The winners of the first ever Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Awards were Orion Engineered Carbons (Pty) Ltd and Air Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd – Vanderbijlpark.
Penfold said the importance of the Responsible Care® Initiative and the commitment of CAIA’s 133 member companies towards sustainability through the Initiative – to continuously improve safety, health and environmental performance – shows its value very year when the performance of signatories is reviewed.
“CAIA applauds its Responsible Care® signatories for their commitment and achievements and will continue to support members wherever possible,” she said.
Rod Humphris, Chairman of the CAIA Board, and Amon Nyamhingura, Responsible Care® Manager, awarded the trophies and certificates to the winners, as well as certificates to the runners-up.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman of the CAIA board, Mr Humphris, expressed his concern at the lack of sufficient interaction from Government Departments, and in particular mentioned the Department of Transport, which plays an important role in the chemical value chain, with the huge amounts of hazardous chemicals being transported across Southern Africa.
Furthermore, the improved engagement with the dti over the past year was acknowledged, and the Chemical Sector Strategy for growth, which has been developed by consultants on behalf of the dti, is welcomed. Mr Humphris stated that CAIA looks forward to further engagements on the implementation of the strategy document.
He encouraged the various Government Departments and other organisations to engage and use CAIA as a resource as it brings a lot of expertise to the table.
Attention was then turned to NERSA and Eskom where it was clearly stated that CAIA had taken a strong position in opposing the upcoming Eskom-proposed increase of 19.9%. Mr Humphris stressed that an increase is unaffordable at this time in our country, and that one cannot have an organisation whose product is in less demand, wanting to cover not only the cost increase, but also the loss in revenue due to lower sales. The message conveyed was a business one, that costs need to be cut, and if this results in some power stations having to be mothballed, then so be it.
Mr Humphris thanked the CAIA team, the chairs of the various fora and the membership for the hard work and contributions made during the past year and looked forward to continued engagement so that CAIA can assist its members and the wider community.
For more information or to set up an interview, please contact Deidré Penfold at 083 419 3281, 011 482 1671 or deidre.penfold@caia.co.za
About CAIA
The South African chemical and allied industries value chain is represented by the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA) which has 133 members including chemical manufacturers, traders, distributors and warehousers, hauliers, waste managers, spill responders, drum reconditioners and other service providers.
As an association that forms part of a worldwide network of chemical industry associations, CAIA’s implementation of the custodianship of the Responsible Care® Initiative in South Africa seeks to promote the continuous improvement of performance in safety, health and environmental arenas, as well as to boost productivity and competitiveness, thereby enhancing sustainability.
CAIA’s primary goals are to promote Responsible Care®, to earn public trust for the chemical industry, to advocate the interests of members wherever possible, to support innovation and education initiatives in science, engineering and technology, thereby creating maximum value for member companies.
On behalf of the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA) caia@caia.co.za www.caia.co.za
Fact Sheet:
Winners and runners-up of the 2017 CAIA Responsible Care® Awards
2017 Responsible Care® Award
Winner: Chemical Initiatives (Pty) Ltd
Runner-up: Safcor Freight (Pty) Ltd t/a Bidvest Panalpina Logistics Warehousing – Denver
Runner-up: Orion Engineered Carbons (Pty) Ltd
2017 Responsible Care® Haulier Award
Winner: PA Stemmet Vervoer cc
Runner-up: Heneways Freight Services (Pty) Ltd
2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award (Company Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Fine Chemicals Corporation (Pty) Ltd for its API Facility Expansion Project
Runner-up: SAFIC (Pty) Ltd for its Hydrocarbon Solvent Waste Reduction Project
Runner-up: Island View Storage (Pty) Limited trading as Bidvest Tank Terminals for its eNose Project
2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award (Corporate Social Responsibility Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: BASF South Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Kid’s Lab Programme
Runner-up: EnviroServ Waste Management (Pty) Ltd for its Centre for Learning Project
Runner-up: Cargo Carriers Limited for its Hope in a Tanker Project
2017 Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Award
Category A
Winner: Orion Engineered Carbons (Pty) Ltd
Category B
Winner: Air Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd – Vanderbijlpark
Member Projects – Winners and Runners-up
2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards (Company Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Fine Chemicals Corporation (Pty) Ltd for its API Facility Expansion Project
An increasing international demand for high quality, high value but Highly Potent Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (HPAPls) at the right price was identified as a potential high growth vehicle for Fine Chemicals Corporation (Pty) Ltd (FCC) and a means that could demonstrate to FCC customers and competitors that South Africa and FCC had the technological capability to remain a world leader in the development and manufacture of high quality API and HPAPls.
FCC’s existing API manufacturing infrastructure was not suitable for the process complexity, the level of safety, health and environmental (SHE) controls and containment – all designed to produce at costs associated with similar products from leading low-cost producers from Asia (India and China).
This led to the decision to redesign and build a new world-class production facility, Production Block C2, to enable FCC to produce HPAPls in fully self-contained production suites where all SHE and quality aspects would be completely integrated into closed systems with an emphasis on high efficiency for cost competitiveness.
The concept and detailed designs were developed in-house after which they were shared and improved in partnership with API experts from the United Kingdom and Italy as well as local experts including architects, structural engineers, fire engineers and process safety consultants.
Hazard and operability studies and failure modes and effects analyses (FMEAs) were performed using multi-disciplinary teams. Systems were designed and built to ensure that complex processes would be automated and fully contained to reduce the potential for operator exposure. Quality built into the process by design and process efficiencies now enable FCC to remain highly competitive against the onslaught from the massive and continually growing API industries of India and China.
The project resulted in a variety of improvements, including:
Contained and efficient material handling: The facility was designed with four fully segregated production centres that permit four products to be manufactured in total containment at any one time. Process centres were designed to ensure the separation of personnel and material flow throughout the building. The installation of a goods-certified lift removed the need for manually operated hoists. Liquid charging facilities were designed to handle 1 000-litre flow bins to reduce the number of drums handled, with a second phase of linking the entire facility to an automated bulk solvent tank farm so that all reactor solvent charge times would be quick and precise to ensure improved process efficiencies with total mass charge accuracy. Wherever required, overhead gantries were installed on the material charging floor to lift flow bins and drums and thus limit any need for manual handling. All material-handling systems were assessed for best suitable containment methods and appropriate contained handling systems were acquired and introduced.
Contained process and powder handling: The facility was equipped with totally closed systems so that all the process unit operations could be implemented in a sealed and closed process environment from start to finish of the product manufacturing process. This protects people from exposure, and products from contaminants and oxidising agents like oxygen. Raw materials in powder form required at the beginning of the process can now be charged into the reactors from a range of packaging, including drums and up to 1 000 litre bulk bags to ensure they remain fully contained during the raw material charging phase of the process. Similarly, as the final product emerges at the end of the process, it remains in closed final filtration, purification and drying systems whereafter it emerges in final powder form and is then packed into specifically designed containment bags and drums, or via a continuous liner to prevent operator exposure of the highly potent product in its pure form.
Process safety: The facility is designed to API 520 and API 521 standards and to operate in a fully contained and closed manner during processing of products. Built-in safety controls include over pressure collection vessels as well as bursting discs to give immediate alarms for over pressure events. The FMEA that was performed indicated the need for high and high-high alarms. The advanced automation system installed allows for the setting of these alarms which will trigger an automated reaction to certain conditions, e.g. fire, crash cooling, or chemical spill. The design and use of a fire extinguishing system based on a highly atomised misting to douse fires via oxygen depletion in all process centres allows for fire-fighting without flooding the building with copious amounts of deluge water which could transfer solvent pool fires around, radically increase the fire footprint and cause a lot more damage to equipment and facilities and even more potential harm to people.
Process efficiency: The facility is designed to operate in both a fully manual and automated manner dependent on the requirements of specific process unit operations. To achieve this, a complex automation system that ensures that batch recipes are executed consistently and with great precision, has been developed and installed. In this way a high degree of efficiency and product quality can be achieved simultaneously.
OPEX cost reduction: Existing processes were redesigned to improve their safety aspects and reduce running costs to ensure that products manufactured in this facility are competitive on a global scale. This is especially important with competitors in India and China competing for the same market share.
The total cost of the new C2 Production Facility project was R391 million. The project was self-funded by FCC and excludes financing and OPEX costs. The facility resulted in the direct employment of 24 operators, a supervisor, a process engineer, two cleaners, four engineering staff and three additional quality control / quality assurance staff. Several fixed-term contractors were employed ranging from engineers to unskilled labour for construction, equipment installation and system qualification for the duration of the project. Construction commenced in February 2011 and the first trial batch was produced in August 2014.
The facility has continued to manufacture trial and validation batches during 2016/17 with commercial manufacturing targeted to commence in April 2018 by when all the regulatory filings are expected to be approved and signed off.
As the facility makes use of highly advanced technology, operators can increase their skill level. Employees who have worked at FCC for over 15 years and have never used computers have been trained and are now fully conversant in the operation of complex automated systems. A further benefit has been that many fixed term contractors who were employed during construction were permanently appointed in FCCs Engineering Department. Information Systems employees were trained on the new automation systems overseas and have now become specialists in their fields.
This single facility represents a production capacity increase of 49% in terms of reactor volume and 20% in terms of kilo vessel hour. The existing infrastructure at FCC permits a maximum production batch size of 150 kg while the new production Block C2 permits batch sizes of up to 700 kg of four different products at the same time. With the current planned products, the new facility has a potential for a total annual output of 21 tonnes of high value HPAPI.
The facility design has enabled FCC to bring process cost down significantly whilst making large improvements in process safety, demonstrating management is committed to continuously improve working conditions for operators whilst maintaining a focus on long term business sustainability. The new facilities are world class and have contributed to increased awareness of the importance of safety, quality and Good Manufacturing Practice to all who work there. Products which were previously manufactured in the United States of America and European Union are now in the process of being transferred to the new facility at FCC.
FCC, Africa’s only API manufacturer, is truly committed to producing quality products in a world class facility with the highest of safety standards.
Runner-up: SAFIC (Pty) Ltd for its Hydrocarbon Solvent Waste Reduction Project
SA Fine Industrial Chemicals (Pty) Ltd (Safic) introduced 17 water-based biological parts washers leading to an expected 17 000 litres, or 80%, reduction in hydrocarbon solvent waste per year.
Traditional parts washers use hydrocarbon solvents, which can be unsafe when users are exposed to the solvents. The company found that flammable solvents were being used, posing serious risks. The solvents also needed to be treated as hazardous waste when disposed of, leading to significant costs and potential environmental impact. Safic set out to identify a way to mitigate this.
The company put an end to supplying hydrocarbon solvents for parts washing and introduced parts washers that use water-based detergents. The parts washer now contains a water and surfactant blend that is heated to 37° Celsius and effectively cleans the parts.
To minimise waste, microorganisms that degrade the hydrocarbon dirt without affecting the surfactant are introduced to the water. This minimises any waste disposal.
By introducing this system, the company’s customers no longer use hydrocarbon solvents – removing safety, health and environmental risks from exposure, and fire risks due to flammability. Customers no longer have dangerous goods on site to manage, there are no volatile organic compound-related emissions and the volume of waste that is generated has dropped by over 80%.
The company invested approximately R100 000.00 in this initiative and imported French experts to introduce the system. Time was also spent raising awareness and providing training in the use of the products.
Runner-up: Island View Storage (Pty) Ltd trading as Bidvest Tank Terminals for its eNose Project
Island View Storage (Pty) Ltd trading as Bidvest Tank Terminals (BTT) received continuous complaints from external stakeholders such as the Department of Health, neighbours and the Transnet National Ports Authority regarding odours emitting from the Island View area in Durban.
This led to a study on potential ways to determine the exact source of odours from BTT sites. If the area and product could be identified, immediate action could be taken by BTT personnel before the vapours posed a risk to the environment and persons exposed to any fumes.
The improvements resulting from the project included:
- an improvement in the quality of air in the island view area due to immediate alarm notifications and subsequent investigations;
- pin-pointing of exact sources of odour so that the activity can be stopped, and odours mitigated before affecting stakeholders;
- improved quality of investigation when an odour complaint is received from external stakeholders’ baseline data for abatement technology; and
- improved stakeholder relationships.
The market offers sufficient supply of high-end air quality analysers and gas detection devices, however not equipment that can continuously monitor trace gas emissions at odour relevant concentration levels. Hence the eNose, an invention from the Netherlands, was investigated to detect odours in the atmosphere even before the human nose can detect them. The technology had been tried and tested, and is currently an integral part of the odour management system in the ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
The eNoses were duly purchased from Rotterdam and installed around all BTT chemical storing sites in Durban in 2015. Due to its successful operation in Durban, BTT recently invested in an additional eNose network system to be installed at its Richards Bay site.
In 2015 BTT invested R 1 316 940,00 and another R957 024,71 in 2017 to solve the problem. This cost excluded the continuous licence annual fee of R212 800,00 for access to the online system for each business unit. In terms of human resources and time, BTT made several other investments:
- The BTT engineering administrator designed the layout for the eNoses, which must
be placed in a triangular formation around the sites.
- Installation of reinforced concrete bases and metal poles for the eNoses was undertaken by an external contractor.
- Installation of the eNoses themselves was undertaken by an external contractor.
- A BTT electrician conducted checks after installation and connections as well as
labelling of the eNoses.
- eNoses are on a planned maintenance programme to ensure optimal performance maintenance undertaken by the BTT maintenance department.
- Investigations are conducted by the BTT control room site team leaders and the Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Department when an alarm is activated.
eNoses detect anomalies in the air composition caused by the presence of reactive trace gases in the environment. Such anomalies may be caused by emissions of gaseous compounds emitted from products being stored or handled by BTT. The odours may also be caused by the passing of gas plumes emitted at neighbouring companies or vessels moored at berths in the port.
The eNose system provides real-time data providing information applicable to operational terminal management and health, safety and environmental management. The online system immediately sends out a notification to the relevant persons as soon as a high level of odour is detected on BTT sites. The source of the odour from the specific site is then investigated and control measures put in place.
Reports from the online system are used to determine the exact point in time that odour levels peaked. This helps BTT to determine what activities were taking place and, if necessary, abatement technology for certain products and processes are investigated to protect the environment and all people near BTT sites.
The eNose is solar powered and does not require electricity to operate. A wind vane and anemometer are installed on the eNose and linked to the online system, which enables tracking the direction from whence an odour is being emitted – for instance from neighbouring companies or berths.
2017 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award (Corporate Social Responsibility Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: BASF South Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Kid’s Lab Programme
Since 2011, BASF’s Kids’ Lab Programme has evolved into an award winning global programme, with over 500 000 children participating in the interactive experiments in around 35 countries. In South Africa, the company has reached out to almost 20 000 children through interactive hands-on experiments catered to specific themes that impact on our daily lives. BASF runs these workshops annually at the National Science Festival in Grahamstown and during National Science Week.
Runner-up: EnviroServ Waste Management (Pty) Ltd for its Centre for Learning Project
Learnerships are key to addressing scarce and critical skills within the sector and industry. EnviroServ Waste Management (Pty) Ltd (EnviroServ) implemented learnerships for unemployed people in communities where the company operates. Fifty-five unemployed people were recruited from Etwatwa, Durban and Cape Town and placed on the Business Admin level 2 (a 12-month national certificate through the South African Qualifications Authority) and New Venture Creation Level 2 learnerships. Of this number, 51 successfully completed their learnership and were absorbed on fixed term contracts within EnviroServ. In 2017, 80 unemployed people, including eight with disabilities, were recruited nationally to partake in the Business Admin Level 2 learnership. EnviroServ covers the costs of R45 000 for each learners’ tuition.
Runner-up: Cargo Carriers Limited for its Hope in a Tanker Project
Living the motto of Water Shortage South Africa – Never sold, never bought, never sponsored, only donated by South Africans for South Africans – was instrumental in Cargo Carriers Limited’s (Cargo Carriers) Hope in a Tanker initiative.
The company responded to South Africa’s worst drought in decades and joined hands with Water Shortage South Africa (#WSSA 2016), Oasis Water Witbank and Engen Petroleum to supply water to the drought-stricken Vryheid area.
During the latter part of 2015 #WSSA 2016, a spontaneous initiative, sprung up on Facebook and various other social media platforms pleading with all South Africans to assist wherever possible.
Cargo Carriers took an interest in this project and started making plans to assist those suffering from water shortages in the drought stricken areas in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The town of Vryheid had become a casualty of the drought and 26 January 2016 saw Cargo Carriers’ Hope in a Tanker Initiative transport the first load of 32 000 litres of water from Witbank in Mpumalanga to Vryheid’s Klipfontein Water Treatment Works in KZN. Once there, the water was discharged into large containment dams for further purification through a filtration process, and supplied to local communities.
The greatest positive outcome of the Initiative was the togetherness shown by individual South Africans, organisations and businesses. Cargo Carriers made available tankers, and worked with #WSSA 2016 and Oasis Water Witbank who provided the water needed, while Engen Petroleum supplied the fuel to transport the water to Vryheid.
Cargo Carriers, Oasis Water Witbank and Engen Petroleum carried all costs ranging from transport, driver overtime, fuel and water supply costs.
Logistical planning was key in this operation. From loading water at source, travelling over 700 kilometres from Emalahleni (formerly Witbank), Mpumalanga, to Vryheid in KZN, to making sure that the vehicles arrived in time at the Vryheid Klipfontein Water Treatment Works to deliver and discharge tankers ready to embark on their return trip to Witbank for re-loading.
By the end of the project (8 February 2016) Cargo Carriers had travelled over 7 000 kilometres and delivered over 288 000 litres of water, while Engen Petroleum contributed 400 litres of fuel per trip, making continued daily deliveries possible.
“Transporting hope in a tanker has been a humbling experience for the Cargo Carriers team and they are proud of their associating with Oasis Water Witbank, Engen Petroleum and #WSSA 2016. This essential project changed lives and really made a difference. Working together with fellow South Africans on projects of this nature is indicative of the spirit of our country,” says Andre Jansen van Vuuren, marketing manager of Cargo Carriers.
